Perhaps you can trace some of this nation's problems to what is being taught in the homes. What are our nation's social problems, and what do we suppose it being taught -- or not taught?
Gang violence? I haven't lived much in areas invested with gangs, to have too much a feel for what the parents there teach. But, I do wonder, do the parents say, "Don't hang out with those kids. Don't get involved with anything that looks like a gang. Don't carve any art on your arm that is a gang emblem. Just don't do it; Stay clear of them."?
I would imagine, in some cases, parents are so fearful of the gangs, they dare not say one such word against them -- they dare not even warn their children against them.
What about racial prejudice? Do parents sit their children down for the talk on treating everyone equally? Do they teach the children that blacks are the same as whites, just with different skin coloring? Or, do they toss in asides, such as, "Blacks are that way, son. You'll just have to live with it."?
Or do they not teach anything about race, at all? If so, they leave the teaching to the streets, and to the prejudices that can be gathered on the streets. If you don't want your child to be a racist, you should teach him or her not to be one.
Our nation is divided, politically. It is one of this country's biggest problems. What is taught in the homes -- a hatred of Democrats by Republicans and a hatred of Republicans by Democrats?
You know it is.
We have police violence -- police shooting people when they shouldn't. What is the parent teaching the son or daughter when that son or daughter joins the police force? Is it, "Son you don't be afraid to use that weapon. You're my son, and I want you alive. Don't wait for it to get to the point where you're in trouble. Use that weapon to keep yourself alive."?
Such words might be okay as long as the parent also ticks of all the times the gun shouldn't be used: Don't shoot just because some doesn't obey your orders, don't shoot a black person any quicker than you'd shoot a white person, don't shoot anyone at all unless you have to, etc.
I would doubt parents teach their grown adult children such thing when they become police officers. But, perhaps they should. A parent should never cease being a parent. For that matter, parents should teach these things to their young children. How many of our parents today teach their children that police shouldn't shoot someone just because orders are not being obeyed, and should never shoot a black person any quicker than a white person, and should not shoot anybody unless it is necessary?
Our police officers are being killed. How many parents refer to the police as pigs, or teach that they can't be trusted? It is one thing to let the child know some officers are corrupt, but the child needs to have a positive feeling towards police officers. Parents should teach that.
If we are to solve our problems, it may take the family to do so. The family is not only the basic unit of society, it is the place where basic values are instilled. If you have a parental problem, you'll have a societal problem. We must wonder if some of the problems we are having are due to what is or is not being taught in the home.
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